Yeah, this was gonna happen eventually, wasn't it? Spy and I are at it again, bitches! Be prepared for some dark fantasy porn as Naruto fucks another franchise! Mwahaha!

Ahem... sorry, I couldn't resist, lol.

As with Into the Void and the Release series, this story was written in collaboration with Spyash2. Please do check him out if you haven't yet.

Summary: What if the war against Memnarch ended differently? What if Glissa was now a planeswalker and... well, actually fucking able to serve as Mirrodin's guardian?

What if she and Koth joined forces to evacuate the remaining Mirran to a world with only one sun and... the fuck are those? The fuck are these? The fuck is all of this green shit?!

And why the fuck is that poor boy so mistreated...?

Warning!

This fanfic series will contain the following: character death, enslavement, sex slaves, yandere, yuri shenanigans, group sex, polyamory, polygamy, interspecies shenanigans, furry (lioness), kemonomimi (vixen), lolicon (legal), shotacon (legal in context), "child" soldiers, netorare, kinky roleplay, cougars, impregnation, seduction, crude humor, lewd humor, dark humor, my fucked up sense of humor, and unabashed silliness!

You have been warned!

Egregious Story Elements!

This fanfic series will contain the following: alternate universe, crossover, character death, characters acting OOC, original characters, sexual content, a NarutoXHarem main ship, Planeswalker!Glissa, OOC!Loli!Fem!Kyuu, Planeswalker!Naruto, Planeswalker!Demon!Kaguya, Clanless!Kaguya, MILF!Lyese, people getting literally eaten, dark and/or otherwise fucked up implications, and a setting wherein Naruto is entirely disconnected from Ninja Jesus. Seriously, if you actually liked that dogshit ending to Shippuden, prepare to hate this series with a fiery passion and to be laughed at when you bitch about the changes we made!

You have been warned!

Disclaimer: Magic: the Gathering is the creation of Richard Garfield and the property of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro; Naruto, meanwhile, is the property and creation of Masashi Kishimoto. The Mirran is a non-profit fanfic made for funsies! Please support the official releases of these franchises.

Prologue: Evacuation

No one knew where they came from…

These great and terrible horrors from beneath the surface of Mirrodin… they were like nothing the Mephidross and its inhabitants had ever seen! They crushed their defenses like a hot knife through butter, upturned everything in their wake; destroyed countless towns, villages, and cities and literally reshaped entire landscapes by their sudden emergence from the ground! Seemingly immune to the toxic fumes of necrogen mist, thousands emerged from the vents and chimneys themselves and those few who lived in the Dross died in the Dross or were... converted.

A horrific creature with the upper torso of a woman growing from the snout of a giant maw on four legs lead the charge and snuffed out the paltry defenses with ease.

Next was Lumengrid, creatures of metal on no flesh, somehow both alive and not, emerged from the Quicksilver Sea and raided what few coastal villages were left of the Neurok tribes. No one was spared. Those few who survived fled straight for the Razor Fields, but many would not make it.

Further north, in the Oxidda Mountain Chain, the Vulshok tribes and Krark-Clan were locked in battle with anything that moved on more than two legs. These things seemingly came from the Seven Hells themselves, shooting up from the ground to assail them! Entire mountains were just gone in the blink of an eye when they attacked!

As night fell, those who still stood, both human and goblin, regrouped and fled south. Their homes were lost, but the sacrifices of those who died so that they could live would not be wasted; this, one man swore!

While the other inhabitants of the world were trying their best on beating back this invasion, the people of Taj Nar were… preoccupied with a different brand of crisis.

Glissa was not at all a happy woman at the moment as she hugged her sister close in comfort. When she caught wind that her dear friend Raksha had finally succumbed to his wounds, three months after the war, she came here immediately to comfort Lyese, her widowed sister, and attend his funeral.

The two were identical, seemingly of the same age. They were tall, athletic elven women with sharp features and pointed ears. Their skin was a vibrant green, their eyes a bright gold, and they themselves were… not entirely organic. It was a quirk of this metallic world and unique to it: the creatures of this plane, sentient and otherwise, were themselves partially metallic—copper in the case of elves. It covered their limbs to mid-thigh and bicep, forming claws at the tips of their fingers and toes, and their hair itself was thick, tough, and chord-like, and the two had a little red gem on their foreheads, right at the base of their hairlines.

That was where the similarities ended between the sisters, though; Glissa was more brutish in appearance, by comparison, garbed in little more than a skimpy, one-piece, shoulderless leather garment that left nothing to the imagination and had the gall to be called a "jerkin" of all things. (1)

Meanwhile, despite her eye patch, Lyese was the more elegant and feminine one, garbed in white silks, silver and steel. The attire would also be considered rather scandalous had it not been for the need to keep oneself uncovered so as not to overheat in this world.

Having five suns and no real nighttime on a literal world of metal would do that...

Finally, Lyese was more obviously well-kempt, as was expected of a queen; her well-polished arms, legs, and hair glistened in the light. Her face framed by two braids that reached down to her swollen bosom, while the rest cascaded freely down her back. Glissa's hair and copper bits, meanwhile, were tarnished black as she preferred it that way, her chords combed for a more simple look.

Glissa hugged her grieving sister close. "Words cannot describe how sorry I am," she said. "He was a dear friend."

"I know," Lyese whispered, tears running down her cheeks. Then she pulled back and after wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks, gave her big sister a serious look. "But, as much as I despise saying this, his death is the least of our worries. I may be the Khanha, but I am no leonin." She spared a glance at her guards.

The two in question resembled humanoid lions with short muzzles, their faces looking very cat-like but just as expressive as humans or elves. They had feline ears atop their heads, stood upon claw-like feet, and were covered in a thin coat of fur. Both were male and like the elves, they too were partially metallic—white gold in their case, with their arms covered to the elbows. They also bore metallic whiskers and had more spots of steel upon their ears, biceps, abdominals, and haunches.

These guards were leonin, the catfolk of Taj Nar.

The two men in question were armed with spears and shields, both bearing scimitars on their belts for backup. As was the case with the elven women, they too were somewhat scantily clad out of sheer necessity, garbed in little more than loincloths sparse bits of armor… something Lyese was not one to complain about.

They both gave Lyese a sympathetic look upon hearing how distressed she was over her situation but said nothing.

"I mean, sure, but you are still his wife," Glissa replied with a frown. "You're even pregnant with his child!"

There was no baby bump, quite yet, but when Lyese started showing signs at the end of the war, she immediately went to a healer and started bouncing off the walls soon after! No one quite knew what would pop out as a result, but Glissa was happy for her… and admittedly jealous.

"I know," Lyese muttered regretfully. "But only those of royal blood can rule by law. There's also this girl… she claims to be Yshkar's daughter." She frowned, getting a bad taste in her mouth from the ordeal. "She's underage, but if her claims are true, then she is the last living member of the royal family." Her frown deepened as she continued. "But, because Yshkar never had a wife, that would also make her a bastard and many of the pride refuse to acknowledge her because of that. Others, however, are flocking to her aid. I can see a civil war brewing in the near future if this issue is not resolved." Her tone became more frantic as she went on. "And to make matters worse, the Auriok are apparently dealing with an invasion of some kind and begging us for support, but we don't have anyone to spare! I… I… I don't know what to do." (2)

Glissa gave her sister a knowing frown; as the Guardian of Mirrodin, she was well aware of what they were fighting and it was simply not something the tribes could deal with.

"We…" began a reluctant Glissa, knowing full well that this was not going to be something her little sister wanted to hear. "We may have to evacuate the tribes if things don't get any better. And from the looks of it, they won't be. We may even have to prepare ourselves to abandon this plane altogether."

"Abandon…?" Lyese didn't quite understand what Glissa was implying.

"Flee to another world," the elder sister clarified. "As a last resort of course. But, if things don't get any better…"

Lyese was silent, not quite knowing what to do with that information.

"I mean, I was assigned to be this world's guardian," Glissa added. "That said, I'll check in with the Auriok; if their villages are beyond saving, I'll bring the survivors here to bolster Taj Nar's defenses."

"You should also go to the Tangle if you can," Lyese urged. "I haven't heard anything from Viridia or even the Sylvok tribes for some time; I'm starting to get worried."

"It's been ages since either of us last visited that village," Glissa commented with a small, reminiscent grin before donning a more serious look, "I'll head there as soon as I can; the Auriok tribes are closer, so I'll deal with them first." Even with her ability to just "poof" anywhere, that would be the wiser choice; if they needed to flee, the Auriok would be easier to transport back here.

Lyese was about to respond, but then, Glissa perked up, sensing something… odd, yet somehow familiar outside and soon after, the two sisters were interrupted by another leonin guard and she scurried on into the tent. Being female, this one had no mane; she was also smaller and lither than the male guards and her modest bosom was covered with a simple brassiere.

"K-Khanha," she sputtered urgently. "My deepest apologies... but several-hundred Vulshok and goblins just… appeared in Taj Nar! Many of them are injured!"

"What?!" Lyese cried out in shock. "What are the Vulshok doing here?! The Oxidda Mountains are days away!" Then her mind caught up to the rest of what the leonin said. "They're injured, too? Did you find out whom they were fighting?"

"We're... in the process of… of questioning them as we speak," the flustered leonin answered as she took several deep lung filling gulps of air, "I… I came straight to you... when they appeared."

The sisters shared a glance, before heading out, the female leonin and Lyese's guards in tow. When they arrived in the courtyard of Taj Nar, though, Glissa… froze. In the center of it all, a lone male of the Vulshok with dark skin was on his hands and knees, panting. He had yet to be approached by the healers... or any of the leonin for that matter for fear that the man might explode or some shit as he glowed with a violent, fiery red aura.

The man was a large one, too, garbed only in a pair of red leggings, his arms covered to the elbows in iron and his hair appeared to be made of it as well, molded back into downward spikes that resembled cornrows.

His eyes glowed with the same fiery mist and those around him looked scared, confused and utterly discombobulated. Clearly, none of them knew how they got here. Glissa, meanwhile, didn't even need to sense this man's "Spark" to know what was going on. This person had just... ascended, undoubtedly from sheer desperation.

"It's okay," Glissa told her sister. "He's just… well… like me. From the looks of it, they were running from something and he unlocked that ability I have to… appear somewhere else. I'll have a talk with him and see what's happened, while you deal with the rest."

Lyese nodded in understanding before turning to her men and barking orders. While she busied herself with that, the elder sister cautiously approached their apparently-flaming guest.

"It's okay," Glissa assured, raising her hands defensively. "The first time's a doozy, so you're going to feel out of it for a bit, but you're safe now."

The man nodded and took several deep, calming breaths. As he did, his aura weakened and eventually extinguished. His eyes no longer aglow, it was revealed that they were of an amber hue. "I am Koth of the Hammer Tribe… what's left of it, at least." He looked to the others and frowned. While there were hundreds of Vulshok all around him, only a few-dozen were of his tribe in particular, much to the man's dismay. "What… what happened?"

"You ascended," Glissa replied. "You are now a Planeswalker… like me; it's how you were able to transport them here. I assume you unlocked the ability in that heat of the moment. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I… I need a moment…"

"Take your time; I'm in no hurry."

While this conversation was going down, an adolescent, female leonin in royal garb emerged from a nearby building. Her attire essentially mirrored that of Lyese, save for the lack of an eye patch; to go with it all, though, she also donned a spiked, steel half helm with cheek plates—the adornment fashioned to resemble a lion's mane. She had an entourage of several guards, both male and female, and no less than five healers following her into the courtyard. When her group approached these refugees, this "cub" shared an uneasy glance with the Khanha as Lyese looked up from the human child she was tending to. That unease quickly turned to a look of understanding, though; while these women were not friends in the slightest, they both had the same responsibility: to help these people who were clearly and so desperately in need.

Fortunately, she and the Khanha were both just as capable healers as they were warriors and thus, the "cub" and her group immediately went to help the injured. Still, though, she couldn't help but wonder, why are there so many injured parties? What happened to them? Were they victims of the abominations she's been hearing so much about?

"You seem troubled, m'lady," one of her compatriots commented, looking concerned.

"More confused than anything," she admitted with a shrug. "I'll get my answers soon enough; focus on the refugees. The grievously wounded take priority. If they're beyond help though..." she trailed off; as much as she didn't want to do it, but they can't waste resources on those who are so injured they're beyond saving.

"You need not worry about that, Lady Kemba," another assured. "Hand them over to us and we'll ensure they pass on peacefully."

The now-named Kemba frowned at that but nodded. She hated being treated like a child, but that would at least allow her to focus on healing those she could help.

About two hours later, Koth found himself in the great hall of Taj Nar, standing before an… elven woman in the royal attire of a leonin. To her left was an empty throne and to her right was the Champion of Mirrodin herself, Glissa Sunseeker. While Koth had caught wind of the Golden Cub marrying an elf, the sight was still an odd one; she seemed so out of place here.

The woman in question was decked out in steel spaulders and literal breastplates. A steel crotch guard was affixed to a long, white skirt which flowed down to just below the knees. She also wore a pair of vambraces and a white, silken cloak finished the look. The attire was more ceremonial than protective though, as no shortage of cleavage and underboob was on display. Her abdomen was completely bare and the skirt showed off her outer thighs, seemingly held up only by two of thin, flimsy straps on either hip. Upon her head was a simple, but elegant steel tiara to denote her rank and what remained of her left eye was concealed by a silver, rounded triangular eye patch, several nasty scars peeking out from underneath.

Further to the side, flanked by guards, a young leonin female who was not quite yet of age bore the same garb, save for a helmet in place of the eye patch and tiara. Koth could also feel no shortage of tension between this girl and the Khanha but said nothing about it.

Finally, to the other side, there was a goblin with a strange look of intelligence in his eyes. The creature had bright green skin, long, pointed ears and a nose of the same shape. His metallic bits, like those of the Vulshok, were iron. He was bald, though, some iron upon his nose and ears. He had a pair of welding goggles on his head and was garbed in a simple tunic with a large satchel slung over one shoulder.

"Koth of the Hammer Tribe," Lyese called out. "I take it you are the leader of these refugees?"

"I'm the closest thing to one they have at the moment, yes," he replied with a respectful bow.

Lyese frowned deeply at his response. "Would you be so kind as to share with us what attacked your people and the Krark-Clan?"

"I… honestly haven't the foggiest clue what they are," he said grimly. "They are metal beasts with no flesh and reek of death and oil, that's all I know."

The goblin perked up at that. "Sound like golems, huh? Constructs maybe. All metal, no flesh, must be machines." The goblin looked at Koth with uncertainty in his eyes. "Not golems? Not Levelers?"

"I frankly wish they were Levelers," Koth grunted, a vicious snarl pulling at the corner of his mouth, making several people in the room flinch and look at him as if he were a madman, especially Lyese and Glissa. "We're at least familiar with those." Then, he paused, and the snarl went away as he looked to be deep in thought. "I... may have seen a golem or two in their midst, now that you mention it, but I'm not sure. Even if I did, though, the vast, overwhelming majority were creatures like none I've ever seen before. Even Levelers looked cute enough to be pets in comparison. They were abominations… complete and utter abominations: freaks of nature and sought to destroy every living thing in their way."

That statement brought with it a feel of utter dread among many of those present. Lyese bit back a grimace as her claws dug into the armrests of her throne. After having lost her parents to those mechanical, beetle-like monstrosities, she didn't want to think that something could be scarier—let alone to such a degree.

"Please, try your best to calm yourself," Lyese urged soothingly. "Are there any details you can share?"

Koth tried his best to comply, taking many a deep breath. "The creatures were largely beast-like in appearance," he said after a moment of contemplation. "Some were bipedal, but most walked on all fours with vicious jaws and furnaces in their bellies. They appeared to swallow goblins and small children whole to fuel themselves and spat molten lava. The biggest one seemed to be the leader, much like with a pack of wild animals, but they were too intelligent and coordinated to just be simple beasts."

Lyese looked very troubled, now. This… did not at all match the descriptions her skyhunters gave in their reports of white metal creatures walking on peg legs with blades for arms. The smell of death and oil was consistent, but that was it.

"The Mephidross seems to have been invaded by something else, but we weren't close enough to get a close look," Koth added. "We saw black creatures of some kind emerging from it while on the run. They seemed to walk on four legs, too, and had whip-like extensions coming out of their backs… definitely not Nim or Reapers, but that's all I know for sure."

"Nothing I know of fits that description," a voice called out from inside the goblin's satchel.

Koth stared at the bag oddly. "Uh…"

"That's Geth," Glissa clarified.

Koth visibly recognized the name and looked even more confused. (3)

"It's a long story," she added. "You… probably don't want to know."

"Yeah, it ain't pretty," Geth cackled from within the bag.

"I see," Koth replied.

"I'll send out my skyhunters to scour the razor fields for refugees coming our way," Lyese told him. "We are still recovering from the war with Memnarch, though, and our forces are spread thin as it is."

"We were, too," Koth said with an understanding nod. "But, if you need more able bodies to help, I can scrounge up a couple-hundred or so."

"I'll take you up on that and have them man the ramparts, then," Lyese told him. Having more able-bodied people manning walls would give Taj Nar a much better defense against… whatever monstrosities had driven them from their homes.

"I'll see what I can do for the Auriok," Glissa stated. "If these things are coming from the Dross and the Oxidda Mountains, they'll be wiped out if I don't."

"I'll have healers on standby for when you return," Kemba added.

Lyese nodded in appreciation, more out of courtesy than anything. She didn't know if the "cub" was just doing this to make herself look good or if she truly was putting their rivalry aside for now, but Kemba's cooperation was appreciated nonetheless.

With that, Glissa and Koth took their leave. Before the goblin could, though, Lyese addressed him, knowing full well that he was going to accompany her sister.

"Slobad," the Khanha called out. "Let us know if you spot any potential weak points in these things."

"Slobad know that, huh?" The goblin gave her a knowing grin. "These things weird-sounding. Never seen anything like 'em, huh? Slobad take real good look at 'em."

"Be careful," Lyese urged. Then, she eyeballed the satchel uncomfortably. "Also... must you take that thing with you?"

"Geth know more about Dross that Slobad," the goblin explained, patting the satchel and eliciting a cry of indignation and some insults from the literal talking head inside. "Best bring him and be sure, huh? Second pair of eyes."

The Khanha frowned but nodded. "If you insist."

A woman with white hair and tanned skin cleaved a porcelain abomination in twain with her sword, one blade glowing white while a black mist emerged from the other. Though she was every bit as scantily clad as many a denizen of Mirrodin, she was anything but defenseless. Her shield, helm, greaves and spaulders were of darksteel—an indestructible metal that proved an invaluable defense. Her spear long gone, she hacked away at these creatures with all her might.

With every strike of her magic sword, it rejuvenated her and any nearby comrades were brought back from the brink of death to fight by her side once more. The sword also provided her with a magic veil that protected her from harm in conjunction with her shield.

This woman was Dafri Kadeem, a champion of the Auriok, and if she were to die this day, a thousand of these sons of bitches would go down with her! (4)

"Get back in formation!" Dafri barked, cleaving the arm off of another creature while sidestepping its lunge. "Pull back to the hills and give 'em hell!"

Her shouts were relayed back to the bugler and he gave the signal, her soldiers responding to the trumpet sound like a well-oiled machine. Leonin and Auriok fought side-by-side as one, like the brothers-in-arms they were; even a few half-bloods were among their numbers—men and women with ears and tails of a cat, but otherwise human in appearance.

Given that Ten Shields was a trade post, such mingling was to be expected and the product of those unions was just as eager as everyone else to help beat back this horrific foe.

But, these creatures they fought were like nothing the people of Ten Shields had ever seen before; they were like walking masses of blades on blades on blades with blades for arms, blades for heads, and blades for fucking blades! They were pure white in color, the blood of her comrades sliding right off of them like water, and walked on four spider-like peg legs that shockingly doubled as motherfucking blades! (5)

The whistle of arrows filled the air soon after Dafri cut the now-one-armed bastard down and sure enough, a drove of them fell to her comrades' arrows. Bur for every one they killed, five more seemed to take its place!

The Auriok Champion and her comrades locked shields as they charged and dozens fell on both sides, the battlefield pained black and red from the blood of the fallen, but she did not give in; this was her duty! If these things got past her company, then the village of Ten Shields was doomed! She would not let that happen on her watch!

Not only was Ten Shields her home, but if it did fall, the supply line to Bladehold would be all but severed!

As the battle raged, a burst of green fire erupted from behind the combined leonin/human formation. It dissipated to reveal Glissa and Slobad predictably, the soldiers in the rear cried out and looked ready to attack her, but they halted upon seeing that the Hero of Mirrodin had arrived.

Glissa held her hands up placatingly. "I'm here by request of the Khanha," she said. "I've been sent to assess the situation."

"It's gone to shit," one of the men shouted out. His name was Jor Kadeem, the leader's younger brother. "Even the angels are involved!"

True to his word, no less than three swooped down from overhead to divebomb the porcelain invaders.

All three of them were women; two of them appeared to be made entirely of platinum with white light seeping from the gaps in their effeminately-shaped armor, while the leader of the attack was more of actual flesh and bone.

The angel in question was completely naked, save for a skimpy, leather brasserie and a silken loin cloth that did nothing to hide her modesty. She appeared to be human with pale skin and crimson locks. Her metallic wings bore golden feathers and her other metallic bits were of platinum. Like the other two, she was armed with a spear and shield—a sword at her hip for backup.

Unfortunately, their aerial superiority didn't last long, though. A massive swarm of what looked like white, metallic insects with bladed heads forced the angels to withdraw and regroup with their other comrades.

Glissa frowned as she made a brief headcount. "Even one-dozen angels aren't enough…?" After having seen them in action during the war against Memnarch, that was saying something! Just one platinum angel had the might of ten men! But, to Glissa's dismay, there were eight of them, led by two archangels, a Pristine One, and even an Ancient One! (6)

"I…" Glissa hesitated. "I'll evacuate the village while you fend them off," she said. Then, she turned to Slobad. "I'm gonna need you and Geth to observe the fight from a safe distance while I'm doing that. Try your best to find any weaknesses that can be exploited."

Later that day, Glissa saw that Viridia was in far worse condition; nearly all of the Tel-Jilad were dead and the Chosen, elite elven warriors of Viridia, were dwindling. The Sylvok tribes had all fled their villages by now and were fighting alongside the elves in a last stand against these hordes of beasts.

Metallic boar-like creatures with the heads of dogs and the jaws of a crocodile stampeded towards the line. They were impaled upon the pikes of those below while the archers above riddled them with holes, but they still came running, seemingly endless in number and every time they were beaten back, these things returned, even harder to kill!

To make matters worse, Ezuri, the previous chief of the Viridia had fallen three days ago, but everyone here knew they had nowhere left to run. All of them elf and human alike, rallied behind a man of the Sylvok tribes, while Glissa evacuated the noncombatants to Taj Nar.

Now, in the midst of this final battle, Mogh of Valen, a blind human in his thirties with a thick, crimson beard let loose a roar and launched a dozen of these foul beasts back, seemingly with his voice alone. He was a towering son of a bitch, taller than any man or elf who fought by his side by a full head at least. Garbed in green armor to blend in with the area and armed with a staff and shield, he beat them back on the ground, bringing his staff down on one's head as it tried to take a snap at him and crushing its skull. It fell over and stopped moving instantly. Then, with a wave of his staff, he pointed at another beast without looking at it, right before it took a chunk out of a female Chosen and the creature let out a deathrattle as the roots of a nearby tree shot up to ensnare it before crushing the little bastard like a grape. (7)

"Finally time to fall back, I take it?" Mogh asked, he didn't need his long-gone sight to know the new arrival was right behind him.

"Yes," Glissa replied. "I'd have come sooner if I knew the mess you were in."

"I have no doubt you would have," Mogh replied confidently. "I can tell that the village is empty. Your doing, I take it?"

"It was," Glissa confirmed. "They're in Taj Nar; they're safe, for the moment."

Mogh nodded, before shouting to the bugler. "Sound the retreat," he ordered. "Glissa Sunseeker has come to get us out of here."

With that, the signal was given and the forces started falling back. Producing a small, metal orb from a satchel on her belt, Glissa reached out with her magic started plucking man and elf alike, making them seemingly vanish in flashes of green light, one by one.

She prioritized the wounded, of course, and anyone she could see that was just about to meet their end, quite literally plucking them from the jaws of death. As the beast-like invaders closed in, she was the very last to leave.

Over the next three months, the citadel of Taj Nar was filled with refugees from all over Mirrodin, swapping horror stories and doing their best to cope with their situation. Despite the best efforts of Glissa and Lyese, however, not even 1,000 survivors of any one culture were recovered from the slaughter.

Hundreds of leonin also lost their lives, heroically aiding the fleeing survivors. Hundreds more were lost defending and then fleeing from their outposts.

The angels fared no better.

Making matters worse, there were whispers spreading about how Kemba could have done better. Lyese didn't know for sure who started them but couldn't prove it was the girl in question.

Still, though things looked grim for the survivors of this whole ordeal, all was not lost. The now thoroughly-showing Khanha stood tall and proud, her head held high as she addressed the survivors and her remaining subjects: 3,562 leonin; 845 elves, excluding herself and Glissa; 223 goblins, excluding Slobad; 75 humans of the Neurok; 857 of the Sylvok; 892 of the Vulshok; 996 of the Auriok; 125 "half-blood" leonin, mostly from Ten Shields; a mere 54 angels; and finally, a single, solitary troll.

She frowned, noting that the Moriok, loxodon and vedalken were gone. But, she could pay her respects later; now was the time to be a leader. (8)

"Citizens and refugees of Mirrodin," she called out, causing them all to pause and look up towards her. "I am the Khanha, Lyese of Viridia, wife of the late Raksha Golden Cub. At my behest, my sister, Glissa, better known among you as Glissa Sunseeker, and my forces aided in your evacuation to Taj Nar." There was a brief pause. She took a moment to steel herself before telling them the bad news. "As we speak this new menace approaches the city walls; we know not where they are from, but it is clear that they are working together to exterminate us. Thanks to my sister and a new ally we have in Koth, however, we may still have somewhere to run, should we fail to fight them off."

There was a thunder of whispers and with her elven ears, Lyese could hear the mixed opinions about that. Some outright disbelieved that they had anywhere to run, not knowing of Glissa's ability to travel to other worlds.

"My sister is the key to our survival," Lyese called out. "Even if this world is lost to us, we can still survive, we can still flee and reclaim it another day by force if needed. Like how Glissa was able to evacuate you from your homes and bring you to Taj Nar in an instant, she can bring us to another world entirely."

"You would have us forsake our entire world?" The indignant cry came from a woman Lyese identified as an Auriok named Ria Ivor of Bladehold. Said warrior was immeasurably helpful in their efforts to evacuate the remaining settlements of the Razor Fields.

"I would have you reclaim it and your homes another day, when we have recovered and replenished our numbers." Lyese shot back. "Right now, this enemy vastly outnumbers us. We may very well be out of our league… Should what I fear be true, then we will all die if we don't flee to another world. There is no glory in dying needlessly; we will take back our world, if not in this war then in the next, when we come back with righteous fury to purge Mirrodin of this plague."

The Auriok woman proved unable to respond.

"I am not saying this as the Khanha," Lyese continued, "I am not saying this as a Viridian, or even as an elf; I am saying this as one of you; you are not... we are not just of Viridia, of Taj Nar, of the Oxidda Mountains, of the Quicksilver Sea, of the Tangle, or of the Razor Fields; we are of Mirrodin, we are the Mirran, and we will survive and take back this world, one way or another!"

Lyese paused and let her words sink in. As they did, the Mirran started to applaud and even cheer; clearly, that speech had done its job.

"Rest up," she said, once the cheers died down. Her tone was a dire one. "Be prepared for battle in the morning; there is no telling how many of those things there are, but my scouts have not returned with good news. Rest assured that we will be in for the fight of our collective lives."

The very next day, those who manned the ramparts of Taj Nar finally got to see the sheer scale of what they were up against. It was nothing short of terrifying. The hordes seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon from every direction. Even more worrying, the abominations that Koth described was among the horde… and they were the stuff of nightmares; there were hundreds of those four-legged, beast-like horrors; they were all of crimson metal, with vicious jaws, drooling with magma which sizzled upon the ground, and furnaces for their bellies that were roaring and burning whatever poor sods they got those teeth on; and they were fueled by goblins and children… whoever made those monstrosities deserved to rot in the lowest pits of the Seven Hells for all eternity!

These creatures weren't the only ones there, either. The blade-creatures who attacked the Auriok and other settlements of the Razor Fields had accompanied them, as did the unholy hybrid pig-creatures from the Tangle and the creatures Koth described emerging from the Dross.

Said creatures were the most terrifying of them all, with three long, blade-like fingers on either hand, four bladed appendages sprouting from their chests and barbed, whip-like tentacles sprouting from their backs. These creatures had no eyes and their heads were practically all mouth—the gaping maws lined with serrated teeth, accompanied only by slit nostrils.

Finally, a fifth horde had joined the fray as well, the Neurok immediately recognizing them as the armored, bipedal lizard creatures who had effectively butchered them into extinction. Some walked on land, others flew and all were armed with wicked claws, serrated fangs, and barbed tails.

The instant Lyese took one look at those beasts and how many there were, she literally said "fuck that" and immediately fell back on plan B: run like hell and take their home back another day... and this time, no one opposed her on that front; even with the angels fighting alongside them, even with their numbers, even with the siege barrier, the Mirran knew full well that they stood no chance against these hordes!

Understandably, many who were manning the walls of Taj Nar wanted to get the fuck away from these creatures as soon as possible. But, they were here to defend the city and the "Planeswalkers" until they could retreat. Transporting so many people at a time would take longer than it had for the small pockets that Glissa had rescued and the sheer distance was also a factor.

Speaking of said 'walkers, Glissa and Koth were in the great hall of Taj Nar, feeling out the nearby planes of the Multiverse through their bond with the Blind Eternities, seeking out a nearby plane that would be hospitable to their kind.

Floating between them was a curious little metal orb that Lyese had only seen once or twice… one that exuded power like nothing she'd ever felt before. Apparently, it was called the Mirari and was made by the very same being who created this very world they lived on, millennia ago. (9)

Speaking of Karn, it was no wonder he took so long to notice what Memnarch had been doing when the fucker went insane; his home plane of Dominaria was in the center of the Multiverse, while they were stuck here at the very edge!

Lyese was understandably not a happy camper, grumpily sitting upon her throne; with her being both the Khanha and so thoroughly pregnant now, she was implored by both the Mirran and her sister to stay back where it was safe. She wanted so badly to be out there, fighting alongside her people like the warrior she was! But, she could not risk the life of her Golden Kitty's unborn heir like that and she knew it.

"How much longer?" Lyese asked anxiously. There was a tremor as the final siege of Mirrodin officially began. Thankfully, the siege barrier of Taj Nar was quite the sturdy nut to crack, having even withstood a vedalken mana bomb and held back the Leveler hordes in the war against Memnarch, so they had time… but given the sheer numbers outside, they were not confident that it was much time.

The two of them were five planes in already, having found nothing among those immediately neighboring Mirrodin. While a plane of chocolate and honey sounded awesome, there was no air to breathe on that one and the other four were no good either, ranging from a plane of lava to a frozen wasteland.

But, then, Glissa found something… it was a bit cold, only having one sun… moon… a fucking ball of fire in the sky, whatever it was called, but the world she saw in this expansive plane was hospitable enough.

But maybe there was another plane they could search for—

"Khanha!" One of the leonin soldiers assigned to the ramparts burst into the Great Hall, looking distressed. "The barrier's starting to crack! It won't hold much longer!"

—actually, forget that... this one will do!

"I found one!" Glissa called out. "Prepare yourselves, I'm about to try something crazy!" Then, she started floating in the air and a veil of green fire started emanating from her. She called upon the mana of the Tangle, pulling it towards her and fueling something… big.

"Glissa, if you get us all killed, I swear I will find a way to murder you from beyond the grave!" Lyese roared in panic as her sister's aura enveloped the room.

Koth, meanwhile, saw what his impromptu mentor was doing and threw his hat in the ring as well, calling upon the mountains of the Oxidda Chain and fueling whatever crazy idea she had.

Outside, the Mirran started to panic as they saw a ball of red and green fire envelop the citadel of Taj Nar, and then the ramparts and even the siege barrier. Then, the ball retracted, caving in on itself and leaving only a perfectly-spherical hole in its wake the creatures which had been pushing against the magical barrier fell forward and many of them were trampled under the hooves and claws of their compatriots.

Those who lead these beasts, five creatures who varied in appearance every bit as much as the creatures they commanded, called off the assault. Clearly, the remaining survivors had escaped, somehow. There was no trace of them. The flesh creatures were gone, and they took their city with them.

1: Yeah, in Glissa's artwork, which is also used for the cover art of the novel, she's wearing what appears to be a skimpy, leather teddy. In the books, however, she's described as wearing a jerkin - which is basically a jacket. Needless to say, the thought of that teddy being "called a 'jerkin' of all things" amused me, so I went with it.

2: Strap in, bitches, it's time for another long one! Though it's not a Naruto rant this time... Just something that seems off about the M:tG main canon timeline.

To be more specific, the timeline for Mirrodin's story is really wonky; the Mirari thing took place 100 years after the Phyrexian Invasion, Memnarch was left in charge of Argentum an undisclosed amount amount of time later and didn't get the idea to change it for upwards of two decades, and then the Mending takes place 200 years after the Invasion?! I think not!

Even with Magic being a factor, it's simply more believable for the terraforming and populating of Mirrodin to take place over much longer than what appears to be a few decades. "Because, magic" does only excuse so much, after all, if you want your story to be taken seriously.

Also, the "soul traps" thing does precisely jack shit to explain the implications of previous generations, the development of the various Mirran cultures and practices thereof (like the Rebuking Ceremony) and the apparent evolution of people into being half-metal and capable of living on this plane.

That being said, since Memnarch is in no way confirmed to be capable of manipulating time, we're delaying the whole Timespiral fiasco and the Scars of Mirrodin storyline is taking place far sooner with Kemba being Yshkar's bastard - since Raksha was confirmed to have no heir upon his introduction - and the legitimate members of the leonin royal family now dead, thus resulting in the "succession crisis" that was mentioned at some point but never really became a thing.

For clarity, in this version, Mamnarch sent probes to other worlds to populate Mirrodin and expedited their evolution to some extent and released them into the wild as it were so that they could develop their own cultures and the like. The process took close to five millennia as several attempts ultimately failed and he also needed time to develop those probes. Thus, by the time we see Teferi again, he's been gone for upwards of 5,000 years, as opposed to a meager 200.

Makes more sense in my opinion.

Lorewise, this extension to the timeskip changes nothing; it's just a minor tweak to the story for the sake of believability.

3: Yup, he's still around. The Lord of the Dross would be rather infamous, so I'm sure Koth would have at least heard his name.

4: Jor Kadeem and Dafri are not canonically related, but it just kinda felt right to make them siblings for some reason, lol. Not sure why. That being said, Dafri is THE Auriok Champion, the version from Fifth Dawn. Not sure if the Dafri who popped up in the occasional flavor text is that specific version, but I wrote this bit of in-universe lore based on the assumption that they are.

Also, yes, as I'm sure someone will have noticed, she is indeed wielding the Sword of Light and Shadow.

5: I had a teensy bit too much fun writing that part, lol.

6: Seeing how comically inconsistent the artwork of angels is in Scars of Mirrodin, I decided to rationalize this with an evolutionary line of sorts wherein they start as Platinum Angels and end up as more traditional angels from the M:tG of old - albeit more... shiny and metallic.

7: An OC inspired by Mug Ruith, a blind druid of Irish mythology; he was created in light of there being only two named Sylvok characters - neither of whom being candidates for tribal leadership.

8: I'm sorry, but the loxodon are by far Mirrodin's most forgettable race; did WotC even remember they existed when Scars came out? I honestly don't recall, lol. Regardless, I can say for sure that they might as well not have existed.

9: Does anyone know what the fuck happened to that thing in canon? Last I heard, Karn had entrusted it to Glissa before leaving Mirrodin's core... at the end of the first Mirrodin storyline. Needless to say, it's been a while, lol.

And that is the prologue done!

Yes, that summary is a Hellsing Abridged reference. XD

This was pretty fun to write, I must say. One of the biggest issues with Mirrodin is that it really comes off as being a small country, rather than an actual world - having only one mountain range, one forest, one swamp, and one confirmed shoreline with a single, small island in the distance, all separated by a large flatland and surrounded by fuck all for all we know. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if the plane in question was established to be relatively small and a flat disk, but the exact opposite was established to be true, because it clearly has a core, has been noted to be massive, and is thoroughly established to be round. O.o

At the same time, however, this issue is somewhat of an advantage as it gives me a very small and manageable pool of shit to work with. This quite thoroughly allows it to serve as some much-needed worldbuilding practice, so I'm not complaining too much, lol.